This text is part of the special notebook Culture as a Gift
Music is a must-have during the holiday season. Whether it’s Christmas songs, shows to enjoy with our loved ones or simply our favorite songs that will accompany the end of year celebrations, here is a guide to upcoming concerts and the best albums that will light up the winter .
Christmas on the boards
The holiday tradition continues for Rufus and Martha Wainwright. The brother and sister will meet Montrealers on December 2 at the Olympia for their legendary Christmas show, A not so holy night, for which they will be joined this year by Robert Charlebois, Ariane Moffatt, Bon Enfant, Jeremy Dutcher, La Force and their aunt Anna McGarrigle. This great celebration full of conviviality, sharing, humor and love finds its origins in the childhood of Rufus and Martha, when they spent Christmas as a family singing in the living room of their wooden house located in Saint -Savior with their mother, the now-departed folk artist Kate McGarrigle. This great evening is all the more unmissable as it allows Rufus and Martha to pay tribute to their mother while raising public awareness of the illness that took her away and collecting donations for the Kate McGarrigle Research Fund on sarcomas and for the Canadian Cystinosis Research Foundation.
Three years after releasing his popular Christmas album Winter songs, Pierre Lapointe invites the Quebec public to join him for his holiday tour. The singer-songwriter will bring his bittersweet songs to life on stages across the province until December 22. In an enchanting setting and accompanied by his musicians and special guests (Mélissa Laveaux, Patrice Michaud, Mitsou, Laura Niquay and Nathalie Simard), he will perform his magnificent Mom dad, At Clara’s or A lost Christmas in Parisfrom Trois-Rivières to Drummondville via Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Joliette, Saint-Hyacinthe, but also the Grand Théâtre de Québec and Place des Arts de Montréal.
For his part, Damien Robitaille is back with his series of concerts Soon it will be Christmas, taken from his album of the same name released in 2019. The public of Longueuil, Thetford Mines, Beloeil, Quebec or Montreal will also have the opportunity to discover his two original songs on stage, My Christmas star And Christmas, Once Again, freshly released. With his group of musicians and singers, the singer-songwriter offers a magical and fanciful show, just like the holiday season.
The Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor and soloist Alexandre Da Costa will also be on the roads of Quebec during the month of December to perform as part of their Christmas concert. Alexandre Da Costa will perform his musical favorites from the holiday season. In addition, spectators from Laval, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Longueuil and Mont-Tremblant will be treated to a very nice surprise since Roch Voisine will be there for some duets full of joy and warmth which already promise to be memorable .
On December 12, actress and singer Joe Bocan will make the Salle Claude-Léveillée at Place des Arts sparkle. His show Christmas with Joe Bocan promises an intimate and yet colorful atmosphere, in which she will be accompanied by two musicians for the interpretation of a unifying repertoire faithful to the Christmas values which are dear to her.
The show The crystal of time by Nicolas Noël will delight the youngest spectators throughout Quebec with his catchy songs and his contagious energy. We follow the adventures of the authentic Santa Claus and his friendly elves Trémaline and Pamalin who, thanks to their wonderful stories, have everything to amaze their family audiences.
Closer to tradition
If there is a Christmas album that evokes the magic of the holidays better than any other, it is undoubtedly Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown! by the famous American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, which was the soundtrack to the eponymous 1965 television film. On December 8, at the Palais Montcalm in Quebec, Dan Thouin will revive this great classic on stage with the Maîtrise des Petits Chanteurs de Québec, Morgan Moore on double bass and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums. O Tannenbaum, My Little Drum, Christmas Is Coming…to these songs now known to all will be added other Christmas essentials that Dan Thouin has skillfully orchestrated.
Stranger in the Night at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal is also an opportunity for spectators to immerse themselves in the greatest hits of the holiday season during the last two weeks of December.
During around ten concerts, Frédérick DeGrandpré will take his audience towards the world of crooners like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Michael Bubble. Renée Wilkin will also join the singer to offer duets that promise to be moving, while ten musicians will accompany them. Please note that the performances on December 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 are offered in a dinner-show format.
After having seduced some 80,000 spectators during around a hundred performances, Christmas a tradition in song returns for a sixth year, still at the Montreal Casino. Marie Carmen, Claudette Dion, Paul Daraîche, Marie Denise Pelletier, Suzie Villeneuve and Joël Legendre invite everyone to come with them to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. For an hour and a half, the songs, both in French and English, will bring the end-of-year spirit to everyone’s hearts on December 6.
Party to the sound of gospel
On December 17, the Palais Montcalm will host the Ensemble gospel de Québec, which presents its Christmas show, Christmas Spirit. O Holy Night, Joy to the World And The most beautiful night in the world are, among other things, on the program of this rhythmic show of brass and strings which reinterprets Christmas carols in their own way.
Ten days later, gospel will also be in the spotlight in Montreal for two shows at the Balcon. On December 27, the Imani Gospel Singers troupe will share with its audience its joie de vivre and the power of its music for a Christmas dinner specially designed for the occasion. The next day, December 28, Michelle Sweeney & The Gospel Tribe will have the crowds singing and dancing to traditional and contemporary gospel music, but also jazz and soul.
Other concerts not to be missed under any circumstances
Singer-songwriter Maude Audet has also just released a Christmas song, her second original in her career. Christmas with a thousand lights evokes the euphoria of the holiday season when we have a loving heart and a desire to celebrate. She will be performing on February 22 in Brossard.
We can’t stop it anymore! Charlotte Cardin, who is currently on tour across Canada before flying to Europe, unveiled this year the French version of her hit Confetti. Her luckiest Quebec fans will be able to see the Montreal singer-songwriter perform it during her upcoming dates in Quebec. She is in fact expected at Place Bell in Laval from February 8 to 11, but don’t delay, because tickets are going crazy fast.
The group returned almost by surprise this year with In the second, and now Karkwa is off to meet his audience for several series of concerts in Quebec. For example, the group will be at MTelus in Montreal on November 30, 1erDecember 2 and 9 then at Minotaure in Gatineau from December 13 to 16.
Let’s also highlight the upcoming Quebec dates for Half Moon Run. They will be in Montreal on December 13, 14 and February 29, as well as in Sherbrooke on December 15, in Saguenay on December 17 and in Quebec on December 18.
International stars will also stop in Montreal in the coming weeks. The Jonas Brothers, Travis Scott, Aerosmith and Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull & Ricky Martin are notably expected for concerts at the Bell Center in the coming weeks. As for the queen of pop, Madonna, she will give two shows there on January 18 and 20.
And then, finally, how can we not talk about the musical comedy of Cowboys Fringants, Royal Pub? This was created from their great hits and also includes new original songs created for the occasion. On stage, seven singer-actors, seven dancers and six circus artists will meet to embody the spirit of the Cowboys. The opportunity to pay one last time a beautiful tribute to Karl Tremblay… Royal Pub will be presented at Place des Arts in December and January.
Three very musical gift ideas
Five Christmas records to discover
Musical Advent Calendar
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.